Friday, December 21, 2012

A call from Karlo Mirth who relayed a message from Danny Melore that he had seen a "possible" Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the Water Hole in Forest Park Queens, pulled me out to that location to verify the ID. Eric Miller and I had earlier discussed teaming up to bird the location, but Karlo's phone call moved up my plans and I was at the scene within minutes of the call.

Given the date and the description of the bird, I wanted to ensure that the "possible" RBGR (Rose-breasted Grosbeak) was not a Black-headed Grosbeak.
When I arrived, Jean Loscalzo was already on the scene, she had received a phone call, from Danny. Eric soon arrived shortly after and with Jean and I, began the vigil for the Grosbeak while debriefing Danny.

It was Jean who first picked out the Grosbeak on the ground and we immediately began to study the bird. Eric and I after looking at the bird declared it to be a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and after further observation decided that it appeared to be a 1st Winter Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Some other notable birds at Forest Park included, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper and Winter Wren. Some photos are posted below -